An All-Star with a sweet swing and a Gold Glove, Adrian Gonzalez has become one of the most productive players in the league and the centerpiece for a team trying to rebuild.

"My goal is to do everything I can do both on the field and in this clubhouse to help this team play to its full potential," Padres star Adrian Gonzalez says. "If we play to our full potential, we can make a run for the division."
— John R. McCutchen / John R. McCutchen / Union-Tribune

"My goal is to do everything I can do both on the field and in this clubhouse to help this team play to its full potential," Padres star Adrian Gonzalez says. "If we play to our full potential, we can make a run for the division."
— John R. McCutchen / John R. McCutchen / Union-Tribune

Of little consolation was his first All-Star selection, or the career-high 36 home runs and 119 RBI and the first Gold Glove that was to come in November.

The constant losing drove the Padres' best hitter batty.

“It's almost like you are going through the motions,” he said. “You never want that to happen.”

He'd known mostly good times since the team he had rooted for while growing up in either Tijuana or Bonita and Chula Vista acquired him from the Rangers in January 2006, along with pitcher Chris Young, a trade that ranks as among the best in Padres history.

Gonzalez, a smooth first baseman with all-fields power, contributed a .304 batting average and 24 home runs to his first Padres team, which won the National League West before getting the first-round boot from a St. Louis Cardinals club that would win the World Series.

The following year brought more drama, the Padres coming within one victory of their third consecutive playoff trip and Gonzalez batting .282 with 30 home runs and 100 RBI.

Then came 2008 – six months of losing records by the Padres after a victory on Opening Day.

Gonzalez fairly shuddered as he recalled it.

“To me, it's all about winning,” he said. “It's all about winning. The minute you are mathematically eliminated, it's kind of tough to finish out the year.

“The fact that we owe it to baseball and that we owe it to the fans to play hard every day, that's the only thing that kept me going. You owe it to the team. But there's nothing to play for if you are mathematically eliminated.”

He smiled. “The only thing to play for then,” he said, “is to beat up the Dodgers and hopefully they don't make it.”

This year, Padres players again will look to Gonzalez, 26, as a leader. And that's fine by him.

He's not going to fake it. There will be no screaming, no rah-rah speeches from the former quarterback.

Lead he will, though.

“I'm more apt to say it this year, if I feel there is something we could do as a team or something that needs to change,” he said. “I will be more apt to say it and not stay quiet about it. With the guys we've got, approaching guys about certain situations might be helpful for us.”

It would be better if he could bottle his batting talent and give it to several teammates.

Courtesy of baseball analyst Bill James, also a senior adviser for baseball operations with the Red Sox, here is a statistic that sums up Gonzalez's offensive contributions last season:

“Adrian Gonzalez finished third in the National League with 119 RBIs, batting in 19 percent of San Diego's total runs. That was the highest percentage in the majors. Ryan Howard batted in 18 percent of the Phillies' runs. Gonzalez also raised his batting average with runners in scoring position by 68 points (compared to his batting with no one on base) and his slugging percentage by 152 points.”